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Another of of my resolutions for 2018:
Over the past few years, at least, whenever my brain lacks enough energy to on Doing Something, I've gotten into the habit of filling up the hours before bedtime with repetitive online games -- mainly match 3 type games. I won't call them "mindless" or "meaningless," because they do have a value, and I've gotten to a point where I feel stuck in them.
So, this year, I've resolved to -- at least for some of those hours -- do some form of doodling, instead.
This is my first completed result:
It's not entirely analog, since I first found a silhouette .gif of a goat doe online, altered it in MS Paint, and printed it out before tracing it and filling it in. But it did get me away from "Bejeweled" for awhile.
I chose a goat rather than a horse, because, deep in the recesses of my heart, I believe the mythical unicorns have a basis -- or several, overlapping, bases -- in reality. And the sturdiest foundation is with the Even-Toed Ungulates. And I love goats. And I wanted to see if I could make something that could convince a "rainbows and glittery poop unicorn" enthusiast that goats can be magical and graceful, too.
So, this year, I've resolved to -- at least for some of those hours -- do some form of doodling, instead.
This is my first completed result:
[Image Description: Ballpoint pen drawing of a goat silhouette, with a single straight horn on her brow, a long tail with an elaborate plume, and short, curly, mane added on to make a unicorn.
The silhouette is filled in with elaborate doodles of spirals, dots, hearts, and hatch marks.
The field is a bright gold-yellow. Description ends.]
It's not entirely analog, since I first found a silhouette .gif of a goat doe online, altered it in MS Paint, and printed it out before tracing it and filling it in. But it did get me away from "Bejeweled" for awhile.
I chose a goat rather than a horse, because, deep in the recesses of my heart, I believe the mythical unicorns have a basis -- or several, overlapping, bases -- in reality. And the sturdiest foundation is with the Even-Toed Ungulates. And I love goats. And I wanted to see if I could make something that could convince a "rainbows and glittery poop unicorn" enthusiast that goats can be magical and graceful, too.
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(I had two pet goats when I was growing up -- the one we got as a baby was wonderfully social and friendly)
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But one of my goats, Rose, looked very much like the goat in this icon. ^^^
(my goats were French Alpines, btw).
I loved them dearly, but they are far too cunning and tricksy for me to casually recommend them as pets. They need to climb and run, and they need a herd. If you don't have the energy or the time to be that herd, it will be hard on both you and them.
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I just finished an AMAZING book by cartoonist/artist Lynda Barry called Syllabus
https://www.drawnandquarterly.com/syllabus
She taught eight courses (here at UW-Madison) that were cross listed between English, Art, and Science. The book shares her syllabi, and why she chose to teach the things she did. I SO WANT TO HAVE TAKEN THAT COURSE!
Anyway, she begins the classes by having the students carefully doodle spirals (and then expands to other shapes) as they listen to lectures about how art happens in the brain. Seems that drawing while listening changes how we learn.
(Thanks for the lovely card.)
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It's been a lifetime since I've been in school, but as I remember it, my best method for note-taking was mnemonic doodles. And a lot of those were spirals.
(You're welcome!)
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And then, there's the example of the roe deer that was born in a park in Italy, and discovered in 2008 (pictured in my icon, here) -- that was probably the result of a variation in the gene nicknamed "Sonic Hedgehog Homologue," which governs the growth of appendages: when it's stronger than normal, you get things like extra-toed cats, and if it's weaker than normal, you get creatures (including humans) born with missing or partially-grown limbs.
And it's also possible to create unicorns, surgically. In 1933, biologist Dr. William Franklin Dove transplanted the horn buds of a young bull calf from the sides of its skull to the center, and the two buds grew into a single straight horn. And the same surgery works with similar results for sheep and goats.
My own guess is that occasionally, someone would come across a wild deer with a single horn, and its rarity and striking appearance would lead people to assume it had magical powers, and symbolic meaning.
Followed later by shepherds and herdsmen giving surgically altered animals as gifts to the local lord or king -- perhaps the "Two horns merged into one" as a symbol of the ruler's power to unite warring factions.
Followed still later by diplomats and dignitaries returning from royal visits, and describing the exotic animals they saw inhabiting the royal gardens...
I think the unicorn acquired the horse's body because horses were deemed a more "royal" and "noble" animal, while sheep and goats are animals associated with peasants.